Vets and BS - Page 3

:>-< raising the glass with yellowrose !! Good Vets are easy to find, Superb,above and beyond Vets are few and far between and need to live forever !!!!!

human nature -- always bith sides to a story -- the difficulty we face as GSD people -- most do not understand medicne .. altough many do ..and many many more really do not know the GSD -- so first if you planning going HIGH-END or seriuosly BREED ? COMPETE -- -- know first then purchase you GSD -- also learn as much as youi can about health etc . and canine behavior .. differnet than horse /cats etc -- this board has a very well knowlageble based gruop willing to share -- to look , listen and learn before you leap . know what you need to know with your eyes closed and can think it and see it backwards --other than that let your counscience be your guide for there are many good GSD people and many flim flammers unfortunately

Hexe, the one thing you must remember is even if the puppy ISN'T a show quality puppy (which if he rated VP, he certainly must be at least decent!), he is a PUPPY. Often, a pup will look like crap when it is little, and then grow up into a dazzling adult. If I had not seen this happen, I would think the same as you! Puppies are a crap shoot! You NEVER know what you have. OTherwise, would his breeder have sold VA1 Zamb vd Wienerau and then bought him back at a later date when his true potential was obvious??? Also, EVEN IF the dog was just ugly as sin, GSDkid WANTS to show his dog, and he can't do that if the dog is neutered. Let him get his experience, learn about the shows, and most of all, have fun! Not just neuter this one and go on to the next dog, which I think speaks highly of him and his (now) devotion to his dog. GOOD vets are hard to find for this breed, and specifically, the German line dogs.

Hey guys thanks for the info. I am really devoted to dogs that I cant get myself off the posting boards. Like VomFelsenHof just because he is a VP he is at least decent. It seems that all puppys of famous or notorius bloodlines get VP. I do feel proud about that. But just about any can buy a dog of a famou sbloodline and get VP. you can only determine when its full grown since its still in the developing stage. thats when we can be extremely proud. At the local show the last two were P I looked at the catalog and they had some bloodline that I didnt recognize. THeres is only a couple vets here in Brooksville, FL THe pepole down here are not as educated as others. I mean both ways dogs and actual education. I think everyone sees this in a vets office or when you first get a dog your friends friend tells you junk. They say make sure you give "dry food" and they give junk like ole-roy. DOnt forget they mix breed dogs. Then they say I had a German SHepherd when I was young but the dont know jack. I just get fed up of it just because they had dogs for all thier life and I just got a dog. They supposedly give me useless advice. My friend has a mix bred akita bernard and a rottweiler. I know you say Eukanuba is junk and Science Diet. They feed Ole-roy. I recomended Eukanuba only because they feed Ole-Roy everytime I got to his house I fell bad for those dogs. THe mix always has rashes. Gets sick. They dont give flea tick medications. I dont think Heart worm either. THey use natural pine sand junk the repels flea and ticks for like a day.

Brittany???? I'm still trying to figure out what in hell you said. Who got x-rayed and why, and how, and with or without sedation, and who got hasseled. I didn't know vet's were out to hassel a dog. I suppose these dogs sit around the poker table at night having a couple of pops and talk about getting hasseled by the vets. Woman, you have goblins inside your head.

I am very fortrunate here, though i drive 40 minutes to the Vet, got one that knows working dogs. He use to do a large police departments K-9 unit. He knows temperment, knows a good import when he sees one. Could not ask for a better vet. Also amazeing a vet you can call in the middle of the night and he will meet you at his office. Also if he is not 100% sure on something will tell you and cunsult with the experts and actually call you at home with the answer.Will tell you how much test cost, if he feels they are really neccesary or not and what they would actually acomplish. Vet: Cotton Wood vet Buena Vista, Colorado 970-395-8900 A vet that actually talks to you in length and not in a rush to push you out the door and get another in. Mike

I worked for 5 different vets in 3 practices within a 15 year period. One of the 5 was what I myself considered competent. A summa cum laude graduate of Northwestern and the University of PA with an IQ of 182. His personality stank, but I would have and did trust him with any dog I ever owned or bred. Don't always count on the talkative vet as being the good one. The most incompetent vet I worked for had and still has a wonderful bedside manner with the owners; he had a knack for making them feel as if he was oh so interested in everything they had to say about their pets and thet he adored all animals ever born. He just didn't know shit from shinola when it came to vet medicine and he was marginally inerested in animals including his own. He had to apply to Penn 3 years running before he was finally accepted into the vet school, the same year the medical school at Penn also accepted him. When he was rejected by the vet school for the second time, he made application to the human medical school and was accepted the following semester. He opted for the vet school and I'm still not sure if that makes me feel relieved or concerned. It's easier to become an MD than a vet here in PA? Duh..... IMO the most important things to consider when choosing a vet are: 1. Is he or she a SUPERIOR diagnostician; your dog is not going to tell the doctor where it hurts. Nothing at all wrong with a vet's referring you to a specialist when it is beyond the realm of his expertise to make a diagnosis. A truly excellent vet will readily admit that he does not known it all and will happily refer you to a local university or specialty practice. Beware of the vet that keeps you coming back when there is no improvement in the patient. I refer back to the numerous posts on this board regarding allergies in GSD's as a prime example. A vet in a general practice, mixed or small animal, does not have the expertise to diagnose and treat allergies. They should refer your dog to a dermatologist or allergist. 2. Does he offer emergency services and not just a referral to the local emergency clinic or another vet who happens to be on call that weekend? Who is on call for him when he's not available? 3. Has there been continuing education? 4. Does his staff seem qualifed and happy and what are their credentials? Techs do most of the work in any vet practice including xrays, blood work, parasitology, assisting with surgery and many times closing for the vet and sometimes they even do the simple surgeries like spays and castrations. tey don't just clean kennels and flea dip cats. Many also administer the anesthesia and always do the pre-ops. It is crucial that any vet you entrust with your dogs has a competent staff where there is little turnover. Get to know the techs, are they animal overs, do they have pets, do they show their dogs or breed? Any vet is only as good as his staff. 5. Expect a reasonable fee for the services rendered. 6. Get references form other dog BREEDER, not pet owner since there is a huge difference in what a pet owner shold expcet forma vet compared to what a breeder should expect. AKC breeders are good references too, don't discount them because you don't like thier dogs. That's throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Of course this is the very basics of what you should look for in a vet. Just don't let yourself be fooled by the personable vet who can charm the pans off your elderly grandmother. Charm does not equal competency. One area vet told one of my new puppy owners that this dog was dysplastic. He was 9 weeks old at the time and his "diagnosis" was based on his pulling on the dog rear legs. At 24 months he received an OFA excellent.

Please pardon all the typos above. No spell check!!!

Right on Blitzen My vet said to tell all these puppy owners that get entangled with one little spot(hot) and the vets start the crap with o we got to poison this dog with dip and them poison him with three more antibiotic and then we will start him on cortisone shots for the rest of his life, to let the dog alone shampoo change his diet, add omega 3 & 6( vit E) fish and raw meats and LET HIS IMMUNE SYSTEM WORK FOR ITSELF......CORTIZONE OR SHOTS KILL THE NATURAL IMMUNE.....ITS AMAZING HOW MANY VETS BLAME EVERYTHING ON ALLERGY ALL HUMAN AND ANYTHING THAT BREETHES ON THIS EARTH HAS SOME ALLERGIES A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS AND YOU WILL HAVE 70x79 more allergies.....

Took me 15 years to find a vet I trust and can deal with my dogs. So funny every one of them so excited to go the vets office. Such a joy not to have to DRAG them in there kicing and screaming,now they drag me. I had one vet made me bring them in the back door and muzzle them, he was a one time visit. I get why they tell most people to spay, to many owners with accidents. Then we have labordoodles.